


Til Rings Do Us Part

by Captainamericant, wingedwords (gunpowderandlove)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anxiety Attacks, Audio Format: M4B, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Cover Art, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Motorcycles, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 45-60 Minutes, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 08:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12128163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainamericant/pseuds/Captainamericant, https://archiveofourown.org/users/gunpowderandlove/pseuds/wingedwords
Summary: If Sam ever imagined what he would be doing on his wedding day, he sure as hell wouldn’t have thought he would be running around Queens trying to find his wedding rings.





	Til Rings Do Us Part

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ya'll! I'm so excited to finally be able to share this fic with you!  
> Huge thanks for my amazing friend and beta [Jay](http://captainromanova.tumblr.com)! Without her this fic would not be nearly as good as it is!  
> Also, huge round of applause to [wingedwords](http://yourgrantaire.tumblr.com/)! My amazing partner in this bang! Go check out their other works!

  
_Cover art by Captainamericant_

**Download or Stream** : [MP3](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wingedwords/%5BMarvel%5D+Til+Rings+do+us+Part.mp3) (27.4 MB) ||| [M4B](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wingedwords/%5BMarvel%5D+Til+Rings+do+us+Part.m4b) (23.3 MB)

**Length** : 00:45:36

**Stream** :

  **9:00 am – Steve’s apartment -- Brooklyn, NY.**

Sam woke up to a light pounding in his head and an unfamiliar room.  He told Steve (actually, insisted) that they didn’t need to pop open a bottle of red wine for their dinner of Chinese takeout, but his best friend had two glasses ready before Sam could get a word out.  Sam groaned, lifting himself up to see that he had woken up too late for his usual run with Steve.  He checked his phone to see various frowny faces from his friend, and replied with a couple of poop emojis of his own.  He knew that Steve was a fucking tank that ran off of pure patriotism and freedom, but Sam deserved a day off goddammit! Especially on his wedding day! Sam twisted to his back and smiled dopily at all the tipsy messages he had sent to Riley last night.  His fiancé had replied in stride with his own drunken adventures, and various pictures of Bucky and his dog.  Deciding to spend the day before their wedding apart was hard, especially since he just wanted to wrap Riley up in his arms, drive to Vegas and be done.  But Riley had wanted a wedding, and Sam wasn’t going to deny his boy anything.  Steve wouldn’t be back for another half hour or so, which gave Sam plenty of time to whip up a quick breakfast and cups of coffee for the both of them.  Since he’s _such_ a nice guy.

Instead, to his surprise, Sam walked out the guest bedroom to a plate of pancakes and bacon waiting for him.  The sticky note on top said:

_Don’t say I’ve never done anything nice for you! – Steve_

At the bottom was a cute little drawing of him and Riley.  Sam sent a picture to him immediately. Sam headed to the dinner table for breakfast, plate of pancake in one hand and coffee mug in the other.   As he ate the pancakes and sipped on his coffee, Sam rehearsed his vows.  He never really bought into weddings in general, but vows? Vows were important.  It was his moment to show all his friends and family how much he loved Riley, but putting all his love and affection into words was hard.  Sam ate his breakfast slowly, texting and reading in between bites of fluffy pancakes.  He was thinking about adding a line or two to his vows when Steve finally stumbled back in, shirt and face damp from his run.

“Hey, isn’t it my best man.”

Steve huffed, going to the cabinet and grabbing a glass, “Isn’t it the groom to be.”

Sam groaned, running his hands over his face.

“What’s the matter? Cold feet?”

“No!” Of course not, he’s been waiting for this day since he met Riley six years ago. He’s the one. “Just nervous, is all.”

“Scared that Riley will finally figure out he’s too good for you, and run screaming?”

Sam rolled his eyes, “Funny, kick a man while he’s down. That’s cold, Rogers.”

He shrugged, smiling, “Just telling it like it is.”

“Well, maybe Romanoff wouldn’t mind taking your place as best man.”

Steve gasped mockingly, “You wouldn’t dare.  She wouldn’t do your drunk college stories justice! Would you deprive your guests of the story of the time that we went to--”

“Alright, alright, shut your mouth and go shower,” Sam threw a wadded-up napkin at him as Steve left the room laughing.

Sam went back to rehearsing his vows; on his fourth time, Steve bulldozed into the kitchen with his hair still wet and a towel around his waist. He was breathing heavily, his phone clenched tightly in his hand.

“Gah! Jesus, Rogers! I am about to be a married man. You can’t--”

“Sam! Did we pick up the rings last night?”

“What?”

“The rings!  We were supposed to pick them up last night, did we?”

His heart was pounding in his chest, “I—I don’t.  Did we? Holy shit Steve, did we?”

Steve was frantic. “Bucky texted asking about them! He said Riley told him to check up on us.”

_Okay, okay.  Just stay calm, just stay calm,_ Sam thought to himself.  There was time, and they didn’t need to be at the church until 1pm.  Everything was fine.

**9:45am – Steve’s apartment – Brooklyn, NY.**

As it turned out, everything was _not_ fine.

After five minutes of Steve fumbling around in only his towel, he finally manage to cart himself to his room and put on clothes.  Sam had his head in his hands, willing his brain to fucking work.

“Okay, okay.  What did we do when we got off from work?”

“We went straight to the jewelers, I think.”

“Yea, we did.  Remember, cause I almost got shit on by a bird.  We went straight to my apartment afterwards,” Steve said.

Sam nodded, “So the rings definitely were picked up.”

“So they have to be here, right? Where else would they be?”

“We looked everywhere, Steve.  And your apartment isn’t that big.”

“Maybe someone broke in last night and stole them!”

“And left the tv, and computer, and all the other expensive shit that you have?” Sam questioned.

Steve threw his arms up, “Where else could they be?”

There was a beat.  “Didn’t we order Chinese yesterday?”

Their head snapped up, looking at the cartons on the kitchen counter.  “Holy shit, we did.”

Sam was sitting up straight now. “The delivery girl? Didn’t she come into the apartment last night?”

He thought back to last night.  By the time their food was delivered, Sam and Steve were properly tipsy.  Sam regularly didn’t have the best memory, let alone when he’s tipsy on wine.  He remembered staggering to the door and happily (maybe _too_ happily) greeting the delivery girl.  Shit, he did invite her in and told her to put the food on the table while he ran to the other room to grab her money.  Fucking _hell._

Sam relayed his thoughts to Steve, “That’s it! I’m such a good cop man!”

Steve rolled his eyes, “We’ll have to call the company and ask for her name.  If we’re lucky, she’ll still have them.”

Sam shook his head, “There’s no time!  They’ll probably tell us that they can reveal her address because of security reasons or something equally as stupid.”

Steve squinted at him, “Really, Sam?”

“We gotta call Tony.”

“What, why?”

But Sam already had his phone pressed to his ear.  

Tony picked up on the second ring, “Sammyboy! Why are you calling me on this fine morning? Happy wedding day, by the way.”

Sam wasn’t in the mood for small talk.  “Stark, I need you to hack into Postmates’ system.”   

“Um, why?” Tony questioned.

“Sam, this is very illegal,” Steve said disapprovingly.

“Then close your eyes and turn around.  I’m trying to save my goddamn wedding!”

Steve muttered under his breath while Tony asked again, “Why do you want me to hack into a food delivery system? I mean, I’ll do it, but you know I’m a curious creature.”

“I just kinda misplaced something and need to maybe track someone down?  Nothing major.”

“What the fuck do you mean nothing major? Sam!” Steve shouted, but Sam tuned him out.

He heard Tony typing on the other end, “Okay, actually, I don’t want to know.  For legal reasons.”

“I just need the name and address of the woman that delivered my food yesterday,” Sam sighed.

Steve had his eyes shut and hands over his ears. Sam rolled his eyes. Like that would get him cleared from criminal charges if they were caught.  Silly boy.

“This will be the best wedding gift you could ever give me, Stark.”

“So does that mean I can return the other very expensive gift that Pepper and I got you?”

“Just give me a name and address!”

“Okay! I have it, I’ll get J.A.R.V.I.S send you the info. Adios,” and Tony hung up.

Five seconds later his phone pinged with information about a woman named Mary Yang, including several of her social media accounts.  She was twenty-one years old, and lived in Queens. _Great._

“C’mon Rogers, we have a wedding to save!”

Steve groaned, “That was so illegal.  So fucking illegal.”

Sam pointed at him, “You’re not allowed to guilt me on this!  Only one of us has been arrested and it sure as hell wasn’t _me_.”

“I was protesting! It’s patriotic!”

“And I’m trying to save my wedding! It’s for love!”

\--

They jumped into Steve’s car with their suits in garment bags in the back seat by 10:00am.  Steve drove because he rightfully did not trust Sam to abide by the speed limits.  The pair sat silently in the car, too nervous to even speak.  Sam was repeating what he was going to say when he confronted Mary the delivery girl.  He planned out a whole speech about how stealing is wrong; it would be firm but brief, and she would never steal anything ever again.  He would prevent a woman from joining the criminal life style, save his wedding, and drive into the sunset.

All in a day’s work!

“You have your usual dopey smile on, which means you’re thinking about something dumb.”

Sam pouted, “You’re supposed to be nice to me.  You’re my best friend.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “You’re still wearing your owl pajama pants.”

“They’re adorable and I love them.”

**\--**

**10:42am – Mary’s apartment—Queens, NY.**

They drove down the streets of Queens until the rundown brimstone apartment showed itself.  It looked like a place that he had lived in during his college days, when instant noodles and Kraft Dinner were his go-to meals.  He and Steve looked at each other grimly when they realized the front door of the building wasn’t even locked.  The steps creaked on their way up, and the stair railing were rusty.  They looked at each other when they reach her door; Steve nodded at Sam and he knocked.

There was shuffling from inside before Mary swung open the door.  Her glasses were skewed and her jet-black hair was in a ponytail.  Steve and Sam traded a satisfied look; she looked _exactly_ like the photos on her social media accounts.  They found her.  

Her eyes widened when she came to face them, and her hand tightened on the doorknob – here was the moment, the moment when she slammed the door shut, and Sam would reach out and--

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” She started to sob.

Fuck, that was _so_ not a part of his plan. Abort immediately.

\--

Steve and Sam sat awkwardly on her couch; Steve tried to make obnoxiously large body smaller by hunching his shoulders.  Sam would have laughed if he didn’t feel such immense discomfort.  Mary had stopped crying after a few minutes of Sam’s panicked stuttering and Steve’s calm reassurances.  She had invited them both in, and while they didn’t exactly have the time, Sam didn’t want to see her crying again.  

Sam didn’t do crying, thank you very much.

They both had a steaming cup of tea. Her apartment was tiny but looked lived in.  There was a small Buddhist shrine in the corner, and photos of her family were framed everywhere.  Mary finally spoke, “I really am sorry.  I know, I know that I shouldn’t have stolen them.  But—but--” her lips started to wobble.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” even though it _wasn’t_ really, “We’re just here to get them back.  Nothing more.”

The wobbling got worse,  “I pawned them off!”

“What?” Sam sputtered.

“I’m so sorry!” She started sobbing again, and Sam was in no position to help her.  He checked his watch and was ready to cry himself.  11:05 am, goddammit.  He resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.  

“Mary, Mary it’s okay.  Can you please tell us which pawn shop you went to?” He said, trying his best to sound as calm as possible.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and told them the address of the pawn shop where she had gone the night before.  Steve nodded curtly, standing up when Sam did.  Sam could see that his friend was upset, but he was in no position to comfort him.  They needed to leave as soon as possible.

As they reached the door, Mary spoke, “I—I just want to let you know that, I didn’t spend the money on drugs or whatever.  I just, I was a few hundred short on my rent--again. And if I, _god_ , if I got evicted I wouldn’t have any place to go.”  She wiped her eyes again, “I know that it isn’t a good excuse but, I just, I needed you to know.  I’m sorry.”

Sam sighed, rubbing his eyes.  He knew his wedding day would be stressful, but he didn’t think it would come to this.  He doesn’t think he’s been this panicked _ever_ , but despite this, he couldn’t help feeling bad for the kid.  He knew what it was like not knowing if he could pay his rent.  “It’s alright, kid.  We understand.”

Mary blinked, clearly startled by Sam and Steve’s easy forgiveness.  “I—Thank you so much.”  With one last gentle smile to Mary, Sam and Steve were out the door and back in the car.  Steve quickly punched the address into his phone and they drove to the pawn shop Mary had sold Sam’s wedding rings.  A fuzzy feeling of fear sat at the bottom of Sam’s stomach.  He and Riley had planned on meeting at the church at 1:00, but he didn’t even know if that would be possible.  And what if the rings had been sold? What would he do then? _Fuck_.  Sam shut his eyes and clenched his teeth.

“Sam, hey Sam. Breathe for me buddy,” Steve said worryingly. Sam took a breath through his nose.  “No Sam, unclench your jaw.  Yea, just like that. Breathe, man, take it slow.”

Steve talked him through his breathing, his voice gentle the whole time.  The beating in his chest lightened, the ringing in his ears started to stop, and Sam was able to breathe evenly on his own.  He opened his eyes slowly to see that they were parked on a curb.

Sam rubbed the tears away from his eyes, “I’m sorry, man.”

“Hey, don’t apologize.  You didn’t do anything wrong,” Steve said, pulling away from the curb.

“Damn, a lot happened today, and I haven’t even gotten married yet.”

Steve laughed shakily in response, “Yeah, let’s hope the ceremony isn’t as eventful.”

Sam nodded, pulling out his phone to see texts from Riley.  He smiled to himself, typing back quick replies to all of them. His fiancé didn’t sound stressed, which means that Bucky hadn’t spilled the beans.  Good.  One highly anxiety ridden groom was enough, thank you very much.

He closed his eyes, letting the remaining anxiety slowly disperse.  Sam listened to the muffled New York traffic and the low sounds of the radio.  Steve stayed silent, which was something that Sam greatly appreciated.  The streets of Queens rushed by them as they drove; Steve muttered to himself as he tried to navigate the road of cars and angry New Yorkers, and Sam pulled out the vows from his pocket to read them again.  

\--

**11:47am – Pawn a Bro – Queens, NY**

“I’m sorry, did someone literally name their store Pawn a Bro?” Sam was disgusted.

“I—I don’t know what to say,” Steve stood beside him with hands on his waist, giving the storefront a ‘disappointed in you’ look.

Sam clapped his hands together, “Let’s get some shit done.”

And they both walked into the Pawn Shop.  

Sam wrinkled his nose at the smell; beside him, Steve sneezed multiple times from the dusty air.  Besides the clerk, the only other person in the store was a teenager.  He had his back towards them and was rummaging through a box.  Sam and Steve approached the front, walking over boxes that littered the ground.  The rumpled looking man looked up from his magazine, grunting as they walked up.

“Can I help you?” he grumbled.

“Um, yea.  Two gold rings were sold here last night.  Do you happen to still have them?” Sam wasn’t going to up and tell the guy that they were stolen; he’s been to enough pawn shops where the owners had recklessly bought a stolen item.  Mary seemed like a good kid, she didn’t need the hassle.  But, if this shop couldn’t even be bothered to pack their empty boxes away, they probably didn’t have a log book.  The man pointed to the glass display on the other side of the store, “All jewelry is over there,” and promptly went back to his magazine.

Sam frowned but didn’t speak. Steve steered him to the glass case, which was also covered in dust.  Sam held his breath as he wiped down the top, sending it all up in the air.  Steve was typing viciously on his phone.

“What’s going on?”

Steve didn’t take his eyes off his phone.  “Bucky wants updates, you _know_ how bad he is at lying, and Riley can basically taste the bullshit that he’s emitting.”

Sam sighed, “Let’s just get the rings and head straight to his apartment.”  Traditions be damned, Sam needed to bask in Riley’s warmth after the last couple of hours he’s had.  Steve came over, and peered over Sam’s shoulder looking in the display case.

“I don’t see them.”

“What?” He shoved Steve’s head away to see a couple of old necklaces and chunky diamond rings staring back at him.  No gold bands in sight.  Sam’s breath hitched; that was it.  They had probably been sold, or Mary had lied to them.  All he knew was that his wedding rings weren’t there.  God, what would he tell Riley? What would be tell his parents? What—

“Oh, sweet!”

Further down from them was the teenager that they saw then they first entered was holding out his hand.  In them were two golden bands.  Sam’s breath caught when he saw what the kid was holding.

“Oh my God,” Steve whispered, pushing Sam towards the boy.  Sam was consumed with a mixture of anxiety and happiness.  The kid turned his head towards them when they approached, and clenched his hand shut. “What—what do you want?”

“Listen kid, we’re going to need you to give us the rings,” Steve said sternly.

Sam cringed; _damn_ , this boy couldn’t talk his way out of a paper bag.  How he got Barnes to date him was beyond Sam. “What my friend is poorly saying is those are my rings.  I—Honestly it’s a fucking long story but they’re mine.”

But the teenager just frowned harder, “How do I know you’re not lying?”

Sam groaned. They really had no time for this!  His phone vibrated in his back pocket to emphasize this fact.  “What’s your name?”

“Peter,” replied the boy, squinting cautiously at Sam and Steve.

“Look Peter, today has not been ideal, okay? Just -- a lot has gone wrong, but it’s my wedding day.  I’m getting married to the love of my life today and god knows I’ll do it with or without the rings I don’t care but—but my fiancé does.  And I—I can’t be the one that fucks this up for him.  I just can’t.”

Sam’s voice came out rough. He knew Riley wasn’t going to leave him at the altar just for being late but all their family and friends would be there.  And they had worked so hard and ---

“Okay! Okay, I believe you! Just please don’t cry,” Peter held up his hands up, eyes wide in panic.  He handed the rings over, dropping them gently in Sam’s outstretched hands and tucked his own in the pockets of his hoodie.  With shaky hands, Sam held one of them up, inspecting it.

“Thank you, _thank you_ so much.”

Peter nodded, kicking the ground a little bit, “Yeah, um, I hope you have a good wedding.”

Finally, Sam’s heart rate plummeted back to normal as the cloud of anxiety finally lifted. With his head clear, Sam noticed the shirt Peter was wearing, which proudly displayed Stark’s obnoxious logo. Sam nudged Steve and nodded to the shirt.  

Steve looked to where Sam was pointing and then smiled. “So, you like Tony Stark?”

Peter smiled, “Yes! Mr. Stark is amazing!  He’s invented so much, and has made so many technological advances.  He’s just so great!”

Grinning, Steve said, “How would you like to meet him?”

“Wooaahh! What?!”

\--

**12:40pm – Peter’s Apartment—Queens, NY**

They sat in the car in front of Peter’s apartment.  The kid had been gone for fifteen minutes already; did it _really_ take that long to put on a suit?

Steve was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and Sam was texting Riley telling him that they would be half an hour late.  “I guess everything worked out.  Surprising, considering our luck.”

Sam snickered, “Yeah man, let’s not talk about the taco food poisoning incident.”

“Or the Italian food poisoning incident.”

“Or the time you tripped over a rock and I tripped over _you_.”

They both sat laughing in a car in front of a fifteen-year old’s apartment building.  As a cop, Sam felt a moral obligation to arrest himself and his best friend, but fuck it - it was his day off.

Seconds later, Peter stumbled down the steps of his apartment, and hopped into the backseat, skillfully avoiding the two suits. “Sorry it took so long! My Aunt May just won’t stop treating me like a kid.”

Steve and Sam both rolled their eyes.

“You are a kid, kid.”

Peter huffed, crossing his arms across his chest in a childlike manner, “I’m almost sixteen! I know how to parallel park.”

“And I’m a twenty-seven year old man driving a teenager from Queens to Brooklyn so he can crash my wedding,” mocked Sam. God, he should really just arrest himself.

Steve pulled away from the building, shooting Sam a look of warning,  “So Peter, that’s a nice suit.”

“Thanks! I wore it to my best friend’s sister’s debut.  It’s a Filipino thing.”  

“That’s nice, kid.” Sam had his hand in his pocket, clenched around the rings.  The boxes must have gotten lost somehow otherwise the rings would have never ended up in the box of miscellaneous crap.  Either way, there was no way he was going to lose these babies again.  In his other hand, he was reading over his vows.

“Do you think I should add a couple more lines, Steve?”

“No, I think it’s perfect as it is.”

Sam rolled his eyes, “That’s what you always say!”

“Well, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to add stuff to your vows an hour and a half before your wedding!”

“Hey, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Wilson? There’s a car accident three miles from where we are,” Peter piped from the back.

_Shit_ , that meant a traffic jam. “How do you know?” asked Sam.  Steve clenched his jaw, coming to the same conclusion as Sam did.  

Peter theld up his phone, “Ned and I are working on this traffic app!”

“How accurate is it?”

“Last we checked 97.4%.  We still need to work on som--”

“That’s good enough for me, kid.  Steve, we gotta go another way,” Sam groaned.

“Which way? I don’t know Queens!”

“Oh!” Peter beamed, “I can direct you! It’s a feature on our app.”

Oh, god fucking _bless_ this child.

“Okay Peter,” He started, twisting his body so he was facing the boy, “if you can get me to my wedding on time and I’ll make Stark take you on as an intern.  How does that sound?”

“Really?!” Peter shouted at the same time as Steve muttered, “Sam!”

“Yeah kid, lead the way.”

Peter directed Steve to turn into an alley, which Steve did begrudgingly.  After a couple twists and turns through the maze that was the New York alley system, they successfully avoided the accident and were on their way back to Brooklyn.

Sam spread his arms above him when they get onto open road.  He rolled down his window and screamed, “I’m fucking getting married today! And nothing’s going to stop me!”

The car beside him honked, and the passenger smiled at Sam as they passed by.

“Thank you!”

Steve snickered and Peter didn’t say anything, but Sam could see him through the rearview mirror watching them with wide eyes.  Sam felt giddy, pulling out his phone and texted Riley several hearts.

**Riley:** What’s wrong with you?

**Sam:** Nothing! I can’t send my fiancé hearts on my wedding day?  

**Riley:** No.  It’s hecking gross.

**Sam: *** kissing face *

**Riley:** Don’t think I’m still not curious to why you’re going to be late.  You’re in trouble Samuel.

**Riley:** Also, Bucky is sweating bullets.  So whatever you’re up to you should update him before he faints.

Sam chuckled, sending one last text to Riley as well as sending a quick one to Bucky.  When he was finished, he dropped his phone into his lap.

“Everything okay?” Steve asked, nudging Sam out of his thoughts.

“Everything is just perfect.”

**1:12pm – The Howling Commandos Diner – Just outside Brooklyn**

“I cannot fucking believe that you ran out of gas!”

“Well excuse me!  I didn’t think I would be driving to fucking Queens today!”

“What kind of grown ass man leaves his tank empty?” Sam shouted.

“The kind that didn’t know that he would be driving around New York City all morning! And it wasn’t empty, it was half full when we left Brooklyn!”

Peter stood off to the side, looking back and forth between the two.

“Hey, maybe we should keep it down,” He gestured to the diner, “People are going to wonder what’s happening.”

Sam ran a hand over his face; he spoke _too fucking soon._ They were stranded in a parking lot of some diner a little ways out of Brooklyn, and by the time an Uber arrived, Sam would already be late for his wedding.

“Fuck man, what are we going to _do_?”

“I—I don’t know.  I’m so sorry, Sam,” Steve whispered.

He let out a sigh and took in their surroundings.  Park in front of the diner was a row of bikes.

Sam turned to Steve and said, “Hey, you know how to hotwire a car right?”

Steve narrowed his eyes, “Yeah, why?”

“Does it translate to bikes?”

“Sam!” shouted Steve, affronted. “No!”

“C’mon man!  Do it for me!  We won’t wreck it or anything!”  
“Sam, you don’t know what you’re saying.  You don’t want to do this.”

He threw his arms in the air, frustrated and anxiety ridden.  “I don’t know what to do Steve.  I just-- god, what the hell is wrong with me?”

“Nothing, Sam.  You’re just stressed, sit down.  Take deep breaths, okay?”

Sam sat on the hood of Steve’s car, peering down at the cement.  He was running different options in his head but---

His head snapped up when the doors of the diner opened, and a woman with curly brown hair and blood red lips came out.  Her hands were on her waist, and she glared at the two men.

“Now, would one of you gentlemen please tell me what all this noise is about?” She asked sternly.  Behind her stood a crowd of ten or so women in leather jackets.

Sam knew how this looked.  Two grown ass men shouting in a parking lot with a teenager on the sidelines.  Sam was also still wearing his pajamas. _Yikes._

Sam gulped, “We’re sorry, ma’am.  We’re just--”

“Our car ran out of gas and we’re stranded,” Peter cut in, “Also, are those your bikes? They’re all so cool!”

Beside him, Steve was jittery, but Sam knew it wasn’t only out of stress; Steve had always wanted a bike but never was able to save enough to get one.  The man was probably in heaven right now.

The woman smiled gently at Peter, “Yeah, those belong to me and my girls.”

_God_ , up close she looked even more terrifying, and it didn’t help that she and her group outnumbered the three of them.

Peter brightened “Oh cool!  We were actually thinking of stealing--”

“Peter!  Jesus Christ!” Sam and Steve shouted, horrified.

“But we decided not to?” He added, eyes darting towards Sam and Steve.

The woman regarded Peter, Sam, and Steve suspiciously.  “Pray tell, why you were thinking of stealing one of our bikes?”

Shit, shit, _shit_ , this looked _bad_.  He turned worryingly to Steve, who looked about ready to pass out. “Well, uh -” Sam began, but got cut off by Peter.

“Oh!” Peter beamed, “We meet at a pawn shop this morning.  Mr. Wilson invited me to his come with him to Brooklyn!  For a super secret meeting with someone!”

Sam looked to the sky, god was just fucking with him now.

“Hmmm, I see,” responded the woman.

“But our car ran out of gas and Mr. Wilson is going to be late for his wedding,” Peter added sadly.

The woman’s eyes softened as she turned back to them.  Sam swallowed down his anxiety, “Look, we’re not looking for any trouble.”

She eyed him, “I can see that.   _Now_ , at least.”  She held out her hand, “Peggy Carter, a pleasure to meet you.”

Sam hesitantly shook it, “Sam Wilson, and this is my friend Steve.  Oh, and that’s Peter.”

Peggy nodded to the gathering behind her, “These are my girls, we call ourselves the SSR.”

“Woah!  That’s so cool!  What does it stand for?” Peter exclaimed.

“Sisterhood,” Peggy said, “We’ve all been together for years.  We came together because of difficult circumstances but we’re here now.  We’re a family.”

“That’s awesome!”

Sam recognized the name.  The SSR was an all-women biker gang.  They hung around Brooklyn but they mostly traveled all over the east coast.  Sam knew the name sounded familiar; Margaret Carter was their leader and she had been in his precinct a handful of times.

Steve stood to the side starstruck; of course _he_ would be impressed.  “Margaret Carter! Oh my goodness, I cannot believe I did not recognize you,” he exclaimed. “It’s such an honor to meet you, ma’am!”

Peggy grinned, “You’ve heard of us?”

“Of course!  You ride the best bikes around!  Your gang is what inspired me to get my licence!”

A blonde woman stepped up from behind Peggy, “Would you like to take a look at my baby?”

Steve’s whole face lit up, “Yes!”

They rushed over to her bike; the woman had the name Martinelli was switched across the back of her leather jacket. She was a good foot shorter than Steve, but he still somehow managed to look up at her.  

“I—It’s nice to meet all of you?”

Peggy chuckled, “It’s quite okay Mr. Wilson, I know it’s overwhelming when we’re all standing together.”

_Yeah_ , no fucking kidding.  “Call me Sam.”

She smiled, “Well, Sam.  You might want to give me the address of your wedding venue.”

Sam blinked, confused, “Why?”

“Because me and the girls are going to give you a little ride.”

\--

Sam quickly rattled off the church’s address, and Peggy and rest of the women all went to their bikes.  Sam didn’t know anything about motorcycles, but all he knew was Peggy’s looked the coolest.  She effortlessly put on her jacket and her aviators, “You’re riding with me.  My girl here will get you to your wedding in no time.”

Sam sent a quick text to Riley.

**Sam:** If I die you can have my _Breaking Bad_ blu-ray box set.

**Riley:** die????? What the fuck is going on?

**Riley:** Where are you?

“Ready to roll?” Peggy asked, already on her bike.  

Sam sent one last I love you text to Riley, and took the helmet that Peggy offered.    

Sam took a deep breath.  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“That’s the spirit!”  She patted him on the shoulder and turned to her crew.

“Ladies, let’s roll!”

\--

The wind whipped past them as they sped down the road, swerving around cars and speeding through yellow lights.  This suit was sandwiched between Sam’s front and Peggy’s back, and his arms were wound tightly around her waist.  There was no fucking way he was only holding on with one hand.  Behind them were the rest of the women, two of which held Peter and Steve, who had his suit in a garment bag draped over his shoulders.  

Sam had never ridden on a motorcycle before, and he will never again.  He must have looked ridiculous in his black helmet and his pink owl pajama pants.

Peggy shouted over the road of the engine, “We’ll be there soon!  Get ready, Sam!”

Sam nodded, knowing fully well that Peggy wouldn’t be able to see him but was too nervous to speak; he was already _so_ late.  What if Riley was angry, what if--

As if she read his mind, Peggy said, “It’s okay, Sam!  Weddings are about the people, not anything else.”

“I know, but--”

“Do not ‘but’ me!  Here’s a tip: A Carter is never wrong.”

Sam smiled, “Yea, but--”

“What did I just say, Wilson?  Now thank me for the advice and move on!”

Sam smiled sheepishly, “Thanks, Carter!”

“Not a problem, now, let’s get you to your guy!”

Sam opened his mouth to reply when a fly flew into his mouth.  Awesome.

\--

**2:10 pm— The Church — Brooklyn, NY.**

The street in front of the church was fairly empty, so the roaring sound of fifteen or so motorcycles was bound to cause a ruckus.  Peggy parked at the very front of the church, and Sam hastily climbed off, pulled his helmet off and held his suit closely to his body.  It was wrinkled, but he didn’t care.  He was here, he was _finally_ here!

The sound of Riley’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, “Sam?”

“Riley!” He shouted. His fiancé was on the steps of the church, and the doors were opened behind him.  He looked confused, but mostly concerned.  They met each other in the middle, engulfing each other in a hug.  There was a small crowd gathering behind Riley, as their friends and family had also come out to see what the noise was about.

They parted slightly, but their arms were still tangled together. “Sam, what happened? You sent me a text about dying, and you don’t answer your phone for _forty minutes_ ! What is _wrong_ with you?” His green eyes were ablaze, glaring softly at Sam.

He chuckled, “Babe, you have no idea about the day I’ve had.”

Riley rolled his eyes, “Well, you better change out of those pajamas.  You kept everybody waiting.”  He lent in, lips almost touching, “You kept _me_ waiting.”

Sam smiled, “Sorry, love.”

Riley pushed him away, straightening out his suit, “Hurry and change!”

Sam laughed, running into the church and calling for Steve to follow.  He seemed obviously busy clinging to Bucky so Sam called for him again.

Riley shook his head, smiling to himself.  His smile dropped immediately when he saw the row of women and a teenage boy standing in front of the church.

“Who the hell are all of you?”

\--

They both stood at the altar, beaming at each other from ear to ear.  Sam’s suit was a little wrinkled and he was a little late, and he hadn’t packed his shoes so he was currently wearing his blue Nike sneakers, and the last pew of the church was filled by people whom he did not know - but none of that mattered.  

_Nothing_ mattered except for the man stood in front of him.

The priest cleared his voice and started his spiel.  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Sam Wilson and Riley Harris.”  Sam knew it was bad, but he tuned the priest out.  How can he possibly listen when the most beautiful man on earth was standing in front of him?  The ceremony went smoothly, and Sam couldn’t take his eyes off of Riley.  A huge smile was on his face the whole time.  Then came the vows.  Sam swallowed the lump in his throat, and watched as Riley smiled gently at him while he reached into his breast pocket to took out his vows.  

Riley cleared his throat, bit his lip, and looked into Sam’s eyes.  

“Everything fell into place when I met you.  I stopped being confused about my feelings, and the pain in my chest started to make sense, and I finally knew who put butterflies in my stomach. But best of all, I stopped being afraid.  I fell in love with you during an in-between time, a time when we didn’t know if we would ever be allowed to be where we are today.  Where whispers behind our backs always seemed louder than the love we had for each other.  I was terrified constantly, terrified that the whispers could turn to fists, but you?  You didn’t seem to be afraid of anything.  You were always the brave one between the two of us, and for a brief time I resented you for it.  I didn’t understand how you could want to hold my hand, or kiss my cheek, or take me out on dates when so many things could go wrong. Until I realized that you were also afraid. You were also terrified of what would happen, of the whispers behind our backs but you -- you didn’t let that fear change you.  Change _us_.  You taught me what being brave truly meant, that being afraid was okay, but to not let that fear shape you.  There are people that may be confused about our love, but I have never been confused about how much I love you.  Not for a damn second.  So, as your husband, I promise be the brave one too. I promise to be there every step of the way as we navigate this new journey. I promise to hold your hand and kiss your cheek without a care in the world, but most of all, I promise to stand by your side, always.”

Riley finished, his eyes filled with tears but he was smiling.  Sam wanted nothing more than to reach other and kiss him right then, traditions be damned.  The crowd coughed wetly, and he peered out to see Pepper passing Tony a tissue and taking one for herself as well.  He swallowed the lump in his throat and licked his lips as he reached into his breast pocket--they weren’t there.  He checked again, and then check his pant pocket.  Empty.  Shit, where was it?

Riley looked at him, brows turned down in worry.  Sam must have left the vows in his pajama pants.  

“Is everything okay?” Riley whispered.

Sam nodded stiffly and let out a meek laugh, “Yea, um, I think I’ve misplaced my vows.”

Riley frowned.    
“Don’t don’t worry, it’s all up here,”  Sam tapped the side of his head.

“Well, you better say them fast before they die from loneliness.”

The crowd laughed, and Sam nudged Riley.  “Dick.”

“Asshole,” Riley replied.

The priest cleared his throat and gave them a look.  

Sam smile at him apologetically and took a deep breath.  He knew his vows, he had read and reread them since he first finished writing them.  He could do this.  

“There are so many things I want to say to you, but that would take an eternity so I’ll just hit the main points.  I love the way make make my eggs sunny side up even though you prefer scrambled.  I love the way you like wearing bow ties even though they’re kinda lame.  I love the way you hand write me a poem everyday, and put it in my lunch even if it’s only a few lines long.  I love the way you sing in the car even though you can’t sing for shit.  And I love the way you make me braver.  I may have taught you what bravery meant, but you make me want to be a braver person every single day.  And I cannot thank you enough.  There are so many things I want to say to you, but that would take an eternity.  So I’m so happy that I get to spend an eternity with you.  For eternity, I promise to make you hot chocolate whenever you ask even if it’s blistering hot, I promise to always make the bed even though it doesn’t make sense, and I promise to never stop loving you.  For eternity.”

They were both crying, but so, _so_ happy.  In the crowd, several people audibly blew their noses; Sam’s mom was crying and his dad was struggling not to.  His soon-to-be husband’s parents handed them tissues, and then took some for themselves.  Riley and Sam beamed at each other, and Sam was vibrating out of his skin.  He was ready to just be married already.  

Sam’s little cousin, Colin, stepped up with their rings safety on a cushion.  They smiled at him, but he was taking his job very seriously and didn’t smile back.  Which made Sam smile even wider.  The two exchange rings.  The golden band glided smoothly onto Sam’s finger and he couldn’t help but touch it.  This was perfect.  

_They_ were perfect.

“I now pronounce you husband and husband.  You may now kiss the groom.”

Riley stepped forward first, pulling Sam into a deep kiss.  The crowd whooped and cheered.  When they parted, Sam pulled him in for another one.  Riley smiled against his lips.  

“You’re such a loser,” Riley laughed.

“Shut up, you love me.”

They took each other’s hands and left the church.  Grinning like mad men, their friends, family, a random teenager, and a biker gang followed behind.  

\--

Sam and Riley stood on the dance floor pressed close to one another.  Riley had his hand on the back of Sam’s neck, and Sam’s arms were wrapped around his husband’s body.  They swayed gently to the music, so engrossed in one another that they didn’t notice Peter gaping at Tony and Pepper laughing on the sidelines.  So engrossed that didn’t hear Bucky swearing up and down about Steve stepping on his feet while they danced, or the gang of women in leather jackets sitting at the bar.  So engrossed that they didn’t see Natasha and Clint having a bread eating contest by the window.  In their minds, they were the only two in the world.

“So, today was eventful,” Riley said, smiling.

Sam groaned, “Yeah, and stressful as hell.”

He chuckled in reply, pressing a kiss to Sam’s lips.  “The wedding went off without a hitch, all thanks to you and Steve.”

“I know.  We basically saved the day.”

“Yeah, right after you almost ruined it.”

They giggled together, still high off of the adrenaline and giddiness from the ceremony.  After everything that happened, the fact that he was able to dance with the love of his life made everything worth it.  And then some.

They pressed their forehead together, sharing a light kiss.

“You’re going to have to tell me the whole story tonight,” Riley said.

“Tonight?  I don’t know, I think I have other plans for us.”

Riley smirked, “Is that so?”

“Yea, but don’t worry.  We still have eternity.”

“Eternity, huh?”

“Are you ready for eternity?”

“With you? Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked the fic please consider reblogging it on [Tumblr](http://softiebarnes.tumblr.com/post/165493967195/til-rings-do-us-part-words-and-graphic-by)! And also following [Me](http://softiebarnes.tumblr.com)!


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